Melting Hearts
by Sky Astor
Summary: Whouffaldi! Fluff... Twelve and Clara have escaped death and are back safe and sound in the TARDIS. It doesn't take long and Clara realises there's something wrong with the Doctor...
1. Don't Worry

**Author's Note: **Since you liked my story _A Second Chance_, I decided to write another one.

I hope you like it! :3

* * *

**Melting Hearts**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Don't Worry**

The Planet Wavelet – also known as The Sanctuary of Water and Ice. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it? A planet with beauty as great as anger. Monumental palaces guarded by creatures of ice, underwater caves containing treasures - singing red whales can lead you there. Rocks covered with glittering snow that emits blue light at night - unbelievable sceneries…

They walked through wonderful rooms, across bridges made of ice; they even took a boat trip on the sea – quite romantic. The Doctor and Clara also entered a magnificent chamber. It was of a grey - dark blue colour and the walls were decorated with ornaments, lights and little waterfalls. And the scent of it? Like the air after rain. They got there by complete accident, yet the Doctor claimed he knew exactly where they were. He didn't want to admit having no clue - Time Lords don't get lost. Above all, not a particular Time Lord in front of Clara Oswald. It turned out to be a sacred chamber – entrance for strangers forbidden. They found out when a 13ft tall, icy guard surprised them. It was a wonderful trip until this moment. Neither excuses nor explanations could stop him from attacking them. The Doctor grabbed her hand and they ran.

* * *

They stormed into the time machine completely out of breath and Clara slammed the door behind her. She apologised to the TARDIS right away, but still thought it was a bit weird – even after such a long time.

"Well, that was close!" she breathed.

The Doctor scuttled a few steps further to the console and switched the main lever to lift off. The time rotor above the console started turning, accompanied by the wheezing sound of the blue box.

Clara walked over to him. He was still out of breath and supported himself on the console. His thoughts were exactly the same as Clara's.

"Are you okay?" he asked first.

"Yeah, apart from being cold and tired, yes, I am," she replied, relieved that they're finally save.

"Good. I'll turn the heating on, you'll be warm soon," he said quietly while he was pressing buttons of different colours and switching little levers on the console.

She'd rather give him a great big hug and rest her head on his chest, but she supposed he wouldn't be all happy about her actions, so she said just 'thank you' instead.

"And you? Are you alright too? " she asked.

"Fine," he mumbled, not looking at her.

Clara could hear something upsetting in his voice.

"You don't sound 'fine', Doctor. What's wrong?" she asked as she was approaching him.

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged, pretending not to understand what she wants of him.

"Nothing."

He could try his best, but he couldn't hide it from her, anyway. She was too clever and cared for him too much not to notice that something was wrong. He walked around the console, not letting her come too close to him.

"Why are you trying to hide your left hand behind your back?"

Before he could come up with a clever response, which she wouldn't believe anyway, drops of blood had fallen on the floor - they didn't go unnoticed and she hurried to him at once.

As soon as she was standing next to him, she could see that his left hand was covered with blood.

"Oh God. Doctor, what's happened to you?!" she asked worriedly.

"That was one of those little icy creatures with sharp pieces as arms. We were escaping when one of them jumped from the bridge above us and cut my arm - I didn't even see it."

"Why didn't you say anything? You need help!"

"Oh, please, it's nothing, Clara. I can handle it myself… and what are your eyes doing again? Get them under control," he said like nothing was happening.

"Nothing?" Clara's voice was a little louder than before and also brittle, "Your whole sleeve is ripped and soaked with blood!"

"Please, let me help you," she said softly and took his right hand hers.

He looked at her warm hand holding his, which send pleasant warmth through his body. Then he examined her face and saw her concern, deep concern and nodded. She asked him if he could fly them to her bedroom and he did without arguing – he considered it a good idea.

* * *

"You probably won't like it, but we need to get you out of your coat and shirt to take care of the wound," Clara said, gently squeezing his hand.

Even though he did expect this, he was completely disconcerted and a bit alarmed.

He gave a quiet, "Yes, boss."

She gently helped him out his favourite black coat with the red lining on the inside. She thought he looked dashing in it - she'd never told him, though. She wasn't sure if he'd accept her compliment or what he'd say to that, so she'd rather kept quiet to avoid awkward situations.

He hissed and his right hand supported him on the handrail when Clara removed the left soaked sleeve as gently as she could. Now he stood there, just in his trousers with his white shirt tucked in. The dark red stain started below his shoulder and continued down his arm.

"Okay, now the worse part," she said. She wanted to make him feel more comfortable because he obviously wasn't. She wished someone or something had been there to make her feel less nervous. Her heart was beating fast. _Keep yourself together, you've got it all under control,_ she thought.

The Doctor pulled his shirt out of his trousers and Clara started undoing the top buttons.

"I can do that myself."

"I know."

He was puzzled but didn't protest.

When she was in the middle, he grabbed her hands with his right.

"Clara," he whispered nervously and she looked up at him, "I'm not a young man anymore…"

She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled a little, "I know you're not, but I don't mind, really. Please, don't be embarrassed or something," she caressed his cheek with her thumb, "Don't worry."

He gave her a faint smile and Clara continued. He knew that this 'taking clothes off' part would hurt more than it had before because the fabric was clinging to the wound. Clara took the left sleeve off slower, he hissed and his face twisted a little in pain.

"Done," Clara said and threw the shirt over the rail, next to the jacket. She turned to the Doctor to find him looking at her.

She didn't want to stare at him but she couldn't help it. His body was so pale… and lean, but he had a little belly. She was trying not to think about sleeping on it. Little short and coarse chest hair was between his pecs and a little on his abdomen. She was trying not to think about stroking it. She could feel that her brain was slowly giving up work. Her heart was pounding so fast, she could feel it.

_You're beautiful_

The Doctor stared back at her, stunned and she'd just realised had said that out loud.

_Has she really just said this? Am I hallucinating? God knows what the little beast's saliva contain… Wait, they contain nothing, I know. Maybe Clara's malfunctioning again. Yeah, that must be it. She has eaten a bit of the glittering snow after all – some intoxicating substance must be part of that. _

"T-thank you, Clara. You're beautiful… too" he stuttered nervously.

His hearts were racing and he blushed deeply.

She licked her lips and found herself panicking. She gave him a smile, feeling the reddish colour creeping on her cheeks too. She needed to escape, and luckily, she had a perfect reason.

"I'll… I'll just run to my bathroom and get some hankies, towels and bandages, okay? Sit down for a while and wait," she said nervously with a smile and she was off.

He nodded and did as he was told. His eyes looked at his arm – couldn't see much because of the blood, but it didn't hurt as much as before. He bit his lower lip and allowed himself to smile while he was waiting for her.


	2. Stay

**Melting Hearts**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Stay**

She came back and knelt down beside his chair, closer to the injured arm and placed the implements on the floor. She took his arm and gently washed the blood off. He hissed quietly or at least made a grimace every time she touched the wounds.

He wasn't looking at her - he was too shy and little embarrassed. His body was exposed to inside pressure every time she touched him. Millions of butterflies were flying around in his stomach – he thought they would tear him apart. It was like he was going to explode. Every time she hugged him or took his hand, feelings overwhelmed him completely and his brain shut down. It was insecurity, nervousness and love. He loved her, longed for her touch despite not exactly showing it when she did so. What would she say to that? He is so much older… and doesn't look like her dashing boyfriend anymore.

Clara paid attention to his wounds, but every now and then she glanced at his exposed skin.

"They're quite deep," she said and interrupted his thoughts.

"Hm?" he looked at her.

"The cuts. I mean, they should get stitched."

"Not necessary. Time Lord wounds heal faster," he paused, "And I don't like needles," he mumbled.

"Okay," Clara nodded, "but I'll give you some pain killers," she gave him a little smile which he returned.

"You look tired, you should have a rest," he said while she was drying his arm.

"Yeah, I am. It was 9:12pm when I was in the bathroom and I'm quite exhausted from all that running," she laughed slightly, "You aren't?"

"A little, maybe," he lied - she thought he did, of course. In fact, he couldn't wait to lie down. After all, he wasn't 500 anymore.

She carefully bandaged his left arm to finish her work. The bandage went from below his shoulder to the half of his forearm.

"Thank you, Clara," he smiled at her shyly. She put her hand on his knee and squeezed it gently.

"It's nothing," she whispered.

"I shouldn't have taken you to Wavelet. Apart from all that beauty, there is also great danger. This could have happened to _you_… or worse," he frowned at the ground.

She pulled him by the hand to stand up.

"Doctor, don't regret or blame yourself for anything. Nothing has happened to me. I'm fine," she assured him, "There's danger on every planet, isn't it?"

"Yes, that is right but still, I'm sorry."

"Please, don't be," she smiled and shook her head softly.

She just couldn't help it.

She wrapped herself around him and felt his quite cold chest on her cheek, a smattering of chest hair tickling her nose. She didn't feel any arms on her back – he held them in the air as usual, totally gobsmacked. She felt his hearts beating faster than usual and she smiled to herself.

"C-Clara," he stuttered, "I'm not exactly sure if you had noticed… but I'm half naked."

She giggled. She loved all of his reactions so much – particularly these. After a moment she kissed his chest briefly and let him go – she didn't want to torture him for too long.

And he just stood there – eyes wide open and lips slightly parted, staring at her.

"I think you wanted to put something on," she chuckled.

He cocked an eyebrow and turned around. He went to the TARDIS balcony to find his holey jumper there. He put it immediately on, quite relieved that he was dressed again. His brain tried to process what had just happened and decided, it would be best to act as if nothing had happened.

"So," he raised his voice, so Clara could hear him properly, "You said you're tired, so you I can sleep here. I'm sure the TARDIS has a very nice room for you."

She let out a laugh and shook her head, "You've landed in my bedroom, remember? I'd like to sleep in my bed, once we're here. I don't want to risk that my bedroom will be moved during the night," she said joyfully.

"And," she turned around and traced fingers across the console and the TARDIS made an approving sound.

"It would be nice if you…" she paused, not facing him and moving to the door, "could stay with me," she uttered shyly.

She wasn't quite alright. There was a strange, blunt pain in her stomach – just a weird, weak pain. She was able to hide it from him. Being afraid that it might get worse, she wanted her impossible hero to stay with her.

"Well, of course, if this is what you want," he replied, quite unimpressed.

He went down the stair to the console and scuttled to the door where she was waiting for him. They went to her bedroom and Clara told him to wait for a moment. She disappeared to the bathroom and he sat down in a chair. He touched his left arm to find out whether it would ache. It did – a stinging pain.

"Here's your pain killer," she offered him a little pill in her hand and a glass of water. He thanked her and took it without arguing. He noticed she changed her clothes – she was wearing pyjamas now. Grey trousers, a tight grey, short-sleeved shirt with black dots on it. It made him happy because it reminded him of one of his shirts, only that his had the colours switched – black with white dots.

She crawled into her bed and lied down on the soft mattress, not covering herself with the blanket yet.

"Come on, then," she said happily.

He cocked an eyebrow and took a quick glance sideways.

She patted the free place on her mattress to make it clear, but he kept his 'what-is-exactly-happening-right-now?' look on his face, which amused her dearly.

"Well, you didn't intend to sit in that chair the whole night, did you, Doctor?"

She expected he wouldn't want to join her but instead, she saw how he removed his shoes and slowly walked over to her.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly when he was at her bed.

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

He slipped right next to her and she covered them with her blanket. He was lying on his right side in order not to hurt his left arm. She snuggled close to him and buried her face into his chest, feeling the soft fabric of his jumper. Her nose found its way through one of the little holes to touch his naked skin – at least a tiny part.

He found himself wrapping his left arm around her – it hurt more in this position, but he didn't care. Clara being so close – that was the only thing that mattered to him. His fingers drew little patterns on her back and he gently placed a kiss on her fine hair – it seemed like the right thing to do. Her brown eyes looked up to find his blue ones.

"Sleep, Clara," he whispered.

She kissed his neck in response and felt a little shiver that ran through his body. He murmured something in her hair, something that sounded like 'My Clara'. The drumming of his hearts and the smell of stardust with a hint of a school art room was lulling her asleep.

He was tired too, but he didn't want to fall asleep. Not yet. He listened to her stable breathing and enjoyed this moment till the exhaustion overcame him.


	3. Close to You

**Melting Hearts**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Close to You**

The raindrops were drumming against the window ledge and the wind was howling. The Moon was peeking through the clouds, illuminating Clara's bedroom.

She twitched and turned, murmured words in a desperate tone. Her fingers clutched the blanket hard while little tear-drops ran down her cheek.

He couldn't bare it any more.

"Clara!" he squeezed her hand.

"Clara, wake up!"

She gasped and opened her eyes sharply. He pulled her up into his arms when he saw the terror in her eyes.

"It's okay. It was just a nightmare – probably the effect of the glittering snow you ate on Wavelet" he rubbed her back gently and felt her heavy breathing against his neck.

"I'm here, Clara. It's all right now," he whispered in her ear.

She tightened her grip around him and they stayed like this for a moment or two. He waited until she calmed down.

"Look at me," he said.

She moved away – but just for a couple of inches – to look into his eyes. He still could see the fear in her eyes, so he raised his hand and caressed her cheek. His thumb gently wiped her tears away.

He lowered his head to hers, "You're safe with me."

She smiled in response, "Thank you for being here."

"Don't mention it, Clara," he shook his head lightly.

The Doctor moved a little closer, not even knowing it. Closer and closer until their noses touched lightly. He was nervous and confused, not exactly sure what he should do now.

She made the first step.

He was disarmed the moment her soft lips gently pressed against his. The pounding of his hearts was so hard, he could feel every single beat. Clara took him by the hands and intertwined their fingers. She gently swept her tongue across his lower lip which was pulsing with the inflow of the warm, sensual blood. He parted his lips a little more and let her tongue find his. A shiver ran up and down his spine as their tongues gently explored each other, he was melting under her touch. A little moan escaped his lips. For him, it was an emotional hurricane – it was too intense, he thought he was going to pass out. He slowed the sensual kiss down. He suckled gently her lower lip and then slowly pulled away.

They gazed into each other eyes, breathing heavily. Clara smiled at him brightly and nuzzled his nose. He bit his lower lip and blushed deeply.

"I'm sorry… I thought I was going to collapse. It was a wee too much for me," he whispered shyly, not looking at her. He had a jittery feeling in his belly and felt the electricity running through his body.

"Don't apologise," she spoke softly, "It was amazing."

She could see a little shy smile appearing on his face which pleased her. She waited until he was ready to look at her again.

"Lie down," she said softly when he looked at her and he did.

She carefully crawled onto him, paying attention not to hurt his arm. The Time Lord's tense body under her made her feel a little unsure. She gently ran her fingers through his fluffy, grey locks – she'd always wanted to do this. They were so soft – it was like touching the clouds. She bent down and kissed them, feeling him relax a little under her. Her fingers kept on messaging his head and lowered herself to find his blue, sincere eyes looking at her. She gave him a soft, sweet kiss. He closed his eyes and smiled, the intrusive blush still didn't want to disappear. Clara felt his skin burning under her touch, which made her heart flutter. She hadn't felt like this for a long time. They rolled on the right side and she buried her nose in his neck.

"Sleep, my dear. I'll keep you safe," he said and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you. Try to sleep too – you deserve a rest. Good night, Doctor."

"Good night, Clara. My Clara."

His long fingers drew gentle patterns on her back to help her fall asleep faster. She didn't know that it was '_I love you' _in Gallifreyan, yet she knew he loved her. No more nightmares troubled her that night again. She was wrapped up in the Time Lord's loving arms, protected. He felt no pain in his arm any more. It was there, but he didn't feel it. His impossible girl loved him - and love was all he felt at that moment. He enjoyed touching her, hugging her… kissing her. No one but her.

He rubbed her back tenderly and pulled her as close as possible, feeling her smiling against his neck.

Moments later they fell asleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! I hope you like it!

**Edit: **Thank you for your kind words - you really make me happy and I appreciate that very much. :)


	4. Epilogue

**A/N: _First of all - thank you for all the lovely reviews! You are wonderful._**

Originally it should have been only a 3-chapter story.  
However, later I decided to write a little epilogue to it. :3

I hope you like it!

**Melting Hearts**

* * *

**Epilogue**

London was all wet after night rain, which passed pass about half an hour ago. The sky above was still filled with light grey clouds that were holding back the rays of the rising sun somewhere behind the horizon.

Clara was sleeping on the Doctor's chest that was slowly rising and falling as he was breathing. He was already awake, enjoying the wonderful moment that filled his hearts and mind with pure happiness. His arms were protectively wrapped around her, holding her softly in place because he liked the weight of her on him. The light breeze of her even breathing found a way through the small holes of his jumper directly to his skin, sending a pleasant shiver through his body.

His heartbeats picked up on their speed every time he lay awake that night - realising that it wasn't just one of his fantasies but that his Clara was still and _really_ there – sleeping peacefully. He remembered how his hearts almost fought their way through and out of his chest when Clara captured his lips. And then when she fell back asleep after that dreadful nightmare, he allowed himself to make sure she would have an untroubled sleep for the rest of the night. He put his index and middle finger at her temple and projected a peaceful image in her mind.

Clara found herself curled up on the Doctor's chest that provided her with warmth through the night. She nuzzled her nose against his neck, inhaling the lovely sweet scent of him that was all over the pillows now.

"Good morning, my dear," he whispered when noticed that she was waking up.

"Morning," she mumbled with a smile, remembering the events of the night, his soft lips against hers.

"So, you're finally awake, sleepyhead?" he asked softly, rubbing her back.

"Almost. You could have got up if you wanted to," she replied and patted his chest gently.

"With you using me as a pillow? There was a high probability of waking you up and I didn't want to risk it."

"I'm sure you would have managed."

"I'm a Time Lord, Clara, not a magician… And besides, I didn't want to go anywhere," he spoke softly.

She lifted herself and moved further up to be eye-to-eye with him and he tightened the grip around her. She used her hand to support her head and gave him a serious look.

He cocked an eyebrow in response.

"You look more like the latter," she proclaimed before she started grinning at him and he shook his head, smiling at her faintly.

She ran her fingers through his slightly ruffled locks and his eyes fell shut. He bit his lower lip and his cheeks caught a light hue of red, but he quickly relaxed into her touch. He purred like a cat and Clara could feel the joy running through her body.

Despite the fact that this had been happening only for the second time, he already loved when she did that.

"Clara?" he asked and opened his eyes to see her brown ones, gazing at him lovingly.

"Hm?"

"I love you," his lips whispered.

Clara lowered her head and her lips found his, giving him a long, soft kiss. She loved how his morning stubble tickled her skin. She pulled softly at his hair and her nose brushed against his.

"I love you too, Doctor," she replied softly, seeing the affection in his blue eyes.

His hearts were beating fast again – he was madly in love and had wanted this for so long.

Clara brought her hand from his hair, lower to his cheek and felt it burn under her touch. She brushed her fingers over the pleasant stubble, enjoying the sharpness and roughness of it.

"Do you want me to shave?" he asked a little puzzled.

"No," she shook her head in and continued cheerfully, "I like it."

He gave her a bright smile, letting all the warm emotions overwhelm him.

"Are you hungry? How about breakfast?" he asked him after a while.

"Yeah, let's see what the kitchen has to offer," she replied and wanted to get up but he stopped her.

"I could fetch you something. Or we could take the TARDIS and have breakfast somewhere special if you'd like to," he proposed, excited like a little child.

"That would be great," she replied with a bright smile as she the joy in his face.

"I'll just go to the bathroom and get ready, okay?" she added.

"Okay."

She got up, grabbed some pieces of clothing and her red skirt, which matched so perfectly with the red lining of his coat, from the wardrobe and disappeared in the bathroom.

xxxxx

When she returned, dressed in her regular outfit, she saw him sitting on the bed and his right hand was touching his left under the sleeve.

She sat down beside his left side and asked if something was wrong.

"Everything's all right, my dear. I think I can take the bandage off now," he explained as he tried to roll his sleeve up.

"You probably shouldn't do that just yet. The cuts were deep," she said with concern in her voice.

"It's fine, Clara," he assured her and squeezed her hand gently.

"Let me help you at least," she insisted and he agreed because suddenly it seemed so hard to say _no _to her. Harder than ever before.

She ordered him to take his black jumper off and he obeyed. He knew this would come because there was no other way to remove the bandages that went up to his shoulder.

He took it off, feeling a bit uncomfortable even though he remembered the word she said last night.

'_You're beautiful'_

It was echoing in his head through the night. A light blush appeared on his cheeks again because he knew she was drinking in the sight of him.

"You don't have to be shy in front of me," she whispered and kissed his shoulder, placing her hand on the swell of his belly, caressing the fine hair with her thumb.

"I'll try."

She started removing the bandage from his arm.

"Tell me, Doctor," she started, "how come you don't like hugging or… touching in general?"

He smiled and his eyes found hers. Her curiosity amused him.

"It difficult," he smiled and spoke in a low tone, "All kinds of emotions invade me at once. Like when a city is flooded."

"You get uncomfortable and don't know what to do, I noticed."

"Every incarnation of me is different – you know that. I this body is not a 'hugging person'."

He pouted his lips a little, "But I like it when you do it," he said shyly, "This body will get used to it."

Clara giggled and enjoyed the conversation they shared. It was different unlike the times before – that was mainly school, history, humans, monsters and planets.

When she removed the bandage, they both looked at his arm. The Doctor saw that everything was alright and his looks flew immediately to her beautiful face, waiting for a reaction.

"Wow," she whispered as her eyes flew open in surprise and the Doctor smiled to himself. The scabs, which were protecting the deep cuts, were mainly pink with hues of violet unlike the ugly one that humans had.

"They look like if someone had painted them," she stated and touched one of the scabs on his arm.

He had never thought about it before.

"Yes, indeed. They do," he whispered to himself so that Clara almost didn't hear it.

"As I had said – my body heals quickly. The wounds should disappear by two days," he added and she looked up at him.

"I was worried about you," she uttered.

"I know," he replied and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Clara crawled onto his lap and he was surprised how his arms automatically found a way around her. She leaned into him and placed her hand on his chest where she could feel the beating of his hearts. Her hand stoked his chest slowly, brushing over the fine patch of chest hair.

There was a spark in his eyes when he looked at her – the person whom he had always desired. He moved his head closer to hers and kissed her softly.

"So, do you know where we're going for breakfast," she asked, blushing a little under his gaze.

"Yeah, I do."

"And?"

"It's a surprise," he teased her.

They got up and the Doctor put his jumper back on. He actually wasn't sure where to take his precious Clara although he claimed the opposite. The TARDIS greeted them with a soft hum when they entered. The Time Lord scuttled to the console and turned the screen to him so that Clara couldn't see it. Some suggestions of various places and times popped up on the screen. '_Quiet outskirts of Paris,1920s'_ appealed to him the most.

He ran around the console to the main lever to switch it. Clara came to him, took his hand in his and he smiled at her as the time rotors above started turning, accompanied by the wheezing sound of the time machine.

* * *

**A/N:**Thank you for reading my story and the lovely reviews! Reviews appreaciated. :3


End file.
